matthewm77
New member
How do you make plucks and leads like this
Progressive house plucks?
- Thread starter matthewm77
- Start date
matthewm77
New member
If you wanted to try explaining it that would be easier I think.
Ametrine
Audible Chocolate
Both of these tracks are really great!
So I've been trying to make those kinds of plucks for a long time now and think I finally got them down. The cleanness (if that's a word) of the plucks that you're hearing mostly comes from the mids.
1) Choose a decent sounding synth and adjust your ADSR envelope until you turn it into a pluck. (Immediate attack and short release).
2) Drop some notes into your synth. Using chords gives the best sound. I think keeping your notes in the same octave gives the best results.
3) Add an EQ to your synth. Use a very aggressive low pass filter to get rid of a lot of the high end. Go down until you can only hear the mids. At the same time, use a high-pass filter to get rid of some of the bass frequencies in the synth.
4) Add a touch of reverb. This will make it really sound nice. Pull down your highcut a lot and keep your lowcut fairly low. With the prog house style plucks, you can actually use a decent amount of decay. (1 second or so. Just experiment).
5) Your synth is going to be a bit too rough since you're stacking notes by using chords. Add in a little compression to tame it. A 1.2 ratio with a decent threshold will do just fine.
6) Mess around with the pattern until it sounds as you like. Now get a bassy synth and turn it into a pluck as well. Start by layering it by using the same notes as the ones in your other synth (the lowest notes in that chord progression). Now move the bass notes around until you like how it sounds.
7) Add in a higher mid synth and pretty much do the same stuff with layering.
Add layers as you need. As your track plays, make sure you use automation to move the EQ up and down to make it sound awesome. It's really fun once you get it right, def give it a try.
So I've been trying to make those kinds of plucks for a long time now and think I finally got them down. The cleanness (if that's a word) of the plucks that you're hearing mostly comes from the mids.
1) Choose a decent sounding synth and adjust your ADSR envelope until you turn it into a pluck. (Immediate attack and short release).
2) Drop some notes into your synth. Using chords gives the best sound. I think keeping your notes in the same octave gives the best results.
3) Add an EQ to your synth. Use a very aggressive low pass filter to get rid of a lot of the high end. Go down until you can only hear the mids. At the same time, use a high-pass filter to get rid of some of the bass frequencies in the synth.
4) Add a touch of reverb. This will make it really sound nice. Pull down your highcut a lot and keep your lowcut fairly low. With the prog house style plucks, you can actually use a decent amount of decay. (1 second or so. Just experiment).
5) Your synth is going to be a bit too rough since you're stacking notes by using chords. Add in a little compression to tame it. A 1.2 ratio with a decent threshold will do just fine.
6) Mess around with the pattern until it sounds as you like. Now get a bassy synth and turn it into a pluck as well. Start by layering it by using the same notes as the ones in your other synth (the lowest notes in that chord progression). Now move the bass notes around until you like how it sounds.
7) Add in a higher mid synth and pretty much do the same stuff with layering.
Add layers as you need. As your track plays, make sure you use automation to move the EQ up and down to make it sound awesome. It's really fun once you get it right, def give it a try.
acetheface954
Active member
dude just get a plugin that has a knob that says pluck. that's all there us to it when you're starting out. two plugins i know for sure that have this feature are called harmor (omg so awesome) and harmless. other plugins can make a pluck sound if you play with the ADSR knobs (attack, decay, sustain, release). its all about the plugins man. just like producers before us relied on outboard gear and skill to get the job done we use the right plugins to get our job done. i produce progressive house songs so i know. good luck.
steffeeh
New member
I too use Harmor, but there's a lot more going on than just a "Pluck"-knob (I don't even like that knob, at least not the traditional use of it).
It's not just about the plugins, it's about the person who is using them.
Though some synths are preferable before others with some kinds of sounds, in this case a synth with a graph-envelope imo, rather than just the classic "ADSR"-knobs/faders, since a lot of the sweetness and characteristics of the sound lies in the shape of the cutoff envelope and not just the amount of for example decay and sustain.
The cleaness is due to the fact the sounds aren't lowpassed at all, or very lightly. Leave the overall lowpass of the sound for now and focus on only the lowpass envelope. This is the most important part in a pluck sound.
In other words, let the decay of the pluck start at zero cutoff, to get that fresh quick peak in the highend.
If you then feel you want less of that fresh attack, then dial in the overall lowpass on the sound until you like it (for example if you want a dull pluck, or when having layers and want to separate them).
Adjust the sustain and decaytime, and adjust the shape of the decay. Some sounds have a more linear decayshape, while others have a more negative progressive curveshape.
Take your time, and find your sweetspot.
Experiment with the resonance.
Adjust the notelengths, the different notes, and the velocities of them, maybe even adjust the cutoff and envelope for each note in the pianosequencer if possible (I haven't tried that myself, but it could give some nice results).
A lot of the fatness of the sound lies in the composition, where they've chosen the right notes in the right octaves, and the right intensity of them.
Take your time and find your sweetspot.
Personally, I always skip the decay and sustain of the volume, since I would compress it if I did it anyway. Though you're not me, so do as you please.
Adjust relase time by taste.
One nice thing to do if you have a graph-envelope is to create your own very, very fast attacking decay to make the synth pop more, this can also be enhanced by the similar thing in a pitch envelope, like a fast pitchbend that's popping. You should also be able to make the sound pop by using a transientshaper.
Using a multiband compressor can be more suitable than a regular for this sound. This way you can compress the highend a little extra and see if it sounds even more fresh.
Reverb can give a nice touch of it, but it's optional. In these examples they use it very modest (at least the second video).
Experiment with additional effects such as unison and chorus.
Ametrine is onto something with the layering! But keep focus when you deal with the layers so they have an equal shape, otherwise it will only sound sloppy.
Though layering isn't the only way to make the sound full imo, you can make it quite far with using several oscillators at different octaves.
EDIT: Changed my mind, I realized it's pretty hard to imagine how the lowpass and the lowpass envelope cooperate and behave together as you tweak them, it's different from synth to synth. So there could be a lowpass on the sound except the lowpass envelope as well. You'll have to experiment.
And now that I think of it, I think there's a medium decay and a medium sustain in the volume as well.
It's not just about the plugins, it's about the person who is using them.
Though some synths are preferable before others with some kinds of sounds, in this case a synth with a graph-envelope imo, rather than just the classic "ADSR"-knobs/faders, since a lot of the sweetness and characteristics of the sound lies in the shape of the cutoff envelope and not just the amount of for example decay and sustain.
The cleaness is due to the fact the sounds aren't lowpassed at all, or very lightly. Leave the overall lowpass of the sound for now and focus on only the lowpass envelope. This is the most important part in a pluck sound.
In other words, let the decay of the pluck start at zero cutoff, to get that fresh quick peak in the highend.
If you then feel you want less of that fresh attack, then dial in the overall lowpass on the sound until you like it (for example if you want a dull pluck, or when having layers and want to separate them).
Adjust the sustain and decaytime, and adjust the shape of the decay. Some sounds have a more linear decayshape, while others have a more negative progressive curveshape.
Take your time, and find your sweetspot.
Experiment with the resonance.
Adjust the notelengths, the different notes, and the velocities of them, maybe even adjust the cutoff and envelope for each note in the pianosequencer if possible (I haven't tried that myself, but it could give some nice results).
A lot of the fatness of the sound lies in the composition, where they've chosen the right notes in the right octaves, and the right intensity of them.
Take your time and find your sweetspot.
Personally, I always skip the decay and sustain of the volume, since I would compress it if I did it anyway. Though you're not me, so do as you please.
Adjust relase time by taste.
One nice thing to do if you have a graph-envelope is to create your own very, very fast attacking decay to make the synth pop more, this can also be enhanced by the similar thing in a pitch envelope, like a fast pitchbend that's popping. You should also be able to make the sound pop by using a transientshaper.
Using a multiband compressor can be more suitable than a regular for this sound. This way you can compress the highend a little extra and see if it sounds even more fresh.
Reverb can give a nice touch of it, but it's optional. In these examples they use it very modest (at least the second video).
Experiment with additional effects such as unison and chorus.
Ametrine is onto something with the layering! But keep focus when you deal with the layers so they have an equal shape, otherwise it will only sound sloppy.
Though layering isn't the only way to make the sound full imo, you can make it quite far with using several oscillators at different octaves.
EDIT: Changed my mind, I realized it's pretty hard to imagine how the lowpass and the lowpass envelope cooperate and behave together as you tweak them, it's different from synth to synth. So there could be a lowpass on the sound except the lowpass envelope as well. You'll have to experiment.
And now that I think of it, I think there's a medium decay and a medium sustain in the volume as well.
Last edited:
acetheface954
Active member
i don't think the guy who asked this is seasoned as you are lol. that's why i said just go for a synthesizer that can do the work for you. curiosity killed the cat so its only a matter of time until the creator wonders if there are more ways to skin a cat. hell as time progressed i i started getting into the little things that make up a record like sound effects. blew my mind to the point i began to experiement and watch videos on where it all came from. i'd like to hear something you produce with a nice pluck to it so that i may compare it to mine. another hobby of mine.
steffeeh
New member
i don't think the guy who asked this is seasoned as you are lol. that's why i said just go for a synthesizer that can do the work for you. curiosity killed the cat so its only a matter of time until the creator wonders if there are more ways to skin a cat. hell as time progressed i i started getting into the little things that make up a record like sound effects. blew my mind to the point i began to experiement and watch videos on where it all came from. i'd like to hear something you produce with a nice pluck to it so that i may compare it to mine. another hobby of mine.
I get your point.
The thing is though, if you want to make such amazing plucksounds yourself, you can't go any easy way.
Some synths may have dedicated knobs that, for example automatically makes a pluck shape, but that is going to sound like a dead animal compared to if you took the time and learned the sounddesign of it and made it yourself.
I don't have any plucksong to show for the moment, it'll be in the future.
scrapheaper
Moderator
Definitely not what this guy says. If you have one good softsynth, and one good reverb, distortion, phaser etc (one of every effect) you can make almost any sound. You can definitely make any of the obvious generic house sounds like that.
Half the skill in house is sound design.
The basic concept to making a pluck is taking an envelope with no attack, a small amount of decay and no sustain, and assigning it to pitch or volume or both.
Different plucks come from using different waveforms or mixtures of waveforms, and then adding FX afterwards.
acetheface954
Active member
Omg you guys take things to literal. He asked how to make a pluck so i said use a pluck knob. A newbie is always going to want something fast minus the exceptional people. I use ADSR only when I need to lol. Bottomline is this, who cares how its done as long as it feels right. Which is what house is; a feeling. -Carl Cox.
mr_peoplese
New member
IF you're still learning synths - Get a preset that sounds like the end result you want and make minor changes. Trial and error will get you savvy with the synths in no time
matthewm77
New member
When you say to focus on the low pass envelope and go on to describe the ADSR settings are you simply referring to dialing in the actual attack, decay, sustain, release settings or something else? I was sort of confused by that. I'm going to try to use Harmor for this since you use it, it might be easier to explain.
steffeeh
New member
In conclusion, yes.
Though as I stated in the edit, it could still be good to tweak the overall lowpass together with the envelope, since they seem to behave differently depending on what synth.
But the envelope itself shapes the sound and gives it the character you want.
Personally, I wouldn't use Harmor for such sound in the first place, I would rather grab a Sytrus and tweak it. But you can always try it and see if it works.
Though as I stated in the edit, it could still be good to tweak the overall lowpass together with the envelope, since they seem to behave differently depending on what synth.
But the envelope itself shapes the sound and gives it the character you want.
Personally, I wouldn't use Harmor for such sound in the first place, I would rather grab a Sytrus and tweak it. But you can always try it and see if it works.
matthewm77
New member
Ughhh this is frustrating I've been sitting here forever trying to get a good sound, not even a pluck, any time I want a specific sound for a song I can never translate it from my head to the synth. Everything sounds the same
acetheface954
Active member
you can use harmor all you want but i think for sound designing one should really get professional help. unless of course you are some sort of an Einstein when it comes to this stuff lol
sound designing is a difficult feat just like any other part of the world of sound. you would truly have to know your stuff. i can produce all day but i wouldn't be anything without the use of the right plugins with the right presets. sometimes i get lucky (A LOT) and stumble upon something i need for the genres i practice making and other times i simply just experiment and dissect what i perceive and mimic it into my own. so i say this to you. experiment, twist knobs, and take notes. and if that doesn't work for you, never too late to learn the proper mechanics behind sound designing.
Ametrine
Audible Chocolate
I dunno about that. I don't think there's ever "hard" sidechaining in progressive house tracks like these. It's definitely noticeable, but it's usually something moderate to give the track a nice groove.
